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news
WMAS ambulance (licensed CC BY SA 2.0 by Lydia on Flickr).jpgCouple in hospital after they both crash in huge pothole
A couple are calling for action after they crashed in a pothole and were both forced to go to hospital with serious injuries.
Bettina Scarlata, 49, and her husband, Mark, 48, both hit the four inch deep, two foot wide and four foot long pothole while out on an 80km ride.
The couple were cycling into Wickhambrook, Suffolk, on July 17 when they hit the pothole.
Mark Scarlata, a priest and teacher, was thrown from his brand new Factor road bike and suffered six broken ribs, a broken collar bone, a fractured spine, and a fractured finger.
His wife suffered traumatic head injury and shattered elbows, and has no memory of the accident after suffering concussion.
Speaking to Suffolk News, Mrs Scarlata said: “Mark is now immobile as he recovers and the doctors thought most certainly, I would have been dead, or have lifelong brain damage, if I hadn’t been wearing a helmet.
“They still don’t know if I will regain full use of my arm, which now has metal plates, and Mark has a CT scan coming up for another look at his spine.
“Mark hit the pothole first and then I did seconds later and we both went flying off our bikes.
"I have no memory of the accident and just remember waking up in hospital.
"We were both there for four days in total."
Mrs Scarlata, a heritage school worker, added: "Potholes are just death traps and if the council don’t do something about them, someone will eventually lose their life, as we nearly did - the parents of three children."
The couple, from Cambridge, were taken by ambulance to West Suffolk Hospital.
They had been riding an 80km route and were travelling around 25mph when they hit the pothole.
A spokesman for Suffolk Highways said in relation to the Scarlata's accident: “We are very sorry to hear of the accident in Wickhambrook and wish the couple involved a quick recovery.
“The pothole had been inspected, marked up and was awaiting repair in line with our maintenance policy.
"However, in light of the incident our teams have carried out a temporary fix prior to a more permanent repair in the coming weeks.
"Although we repair many thousands of potholes every year, unfortunately not all potholes can be eradicated at once which is why we encourage all road users to take extra care and drive to the conditions of the road."
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13 comments
"we encourage all road users to take extra care and drive to the conditions of the road", i.e. it's entirely their fault and not ours.
Wish the couple a full and speedy recovery, hope this does not put them off cycling.
Until such time as councils take a pro active approach to road maintenance it is up to all of us to report road defects so that councils are aware and therefore obligated, which should hopefully reduce the likelihood of similar incidents in the future.
We had a really nasty one here in Norway a week or so ago, group on a charity ride for kids cancer support, one of the lead riders got their front wheel stuck in the expansion joint for a bridge, most of the group went down, 8 to hospital, 1 airlifted, another site listed as 3 with fractures to back or neck. (We'd been on a road trip, so passed the group the day before this happened)
The local authority responsible had been informed of a similar accident a year ago, and were "considering option to improve it" and have admitted they should at least have signed the danger, if they couldn't change the expansion joint immediately.
https://www.nrk.no/trondelag/mange-skadd-i-sykkelulykke-i-malm-i-trondel... (Google translate does an OK job, althogh the word for tickle and stuck fast is the same, so they didn't really tickle the bridge, their wheel wedged and stopped instantly)
That is utter madness to have that on a cycleable road.
How in god's name did that pass the safety audit? Gross incompetence.
We had some nasty potholes near us. Took nearly a year to get them fixed despite repeated reporting of them.
Mistake. Do not read this message.
Aaaaaaaaargh, toooo laaaaaaaate........
""However, in light of the incident our teams have carried out a temporary fix prior to a more permanent repair in the coming weeks."
You should have done that in the first place. It would likely be cheaper for the taxpayer too. We really do need an easier way to do this; like instant compensation for anyone proving damage to their vehicle from a pothole.
I hope the couple in question sue the council and win, because there's no reason for a pothole that deep to not have been noticed and fixed months ago.
There are certainly circumstances where even a large pothole can remain hidden until it is too late to avoid it and there should be a reasonable expectation that road surfaces are kept in good repair. A hole of the reported size should have been a priority. Now the council have to repair the defect and no doubt fork over a considerable sum in damages and legal costs. I trust that the hole was properly documented before the council tampered with the evidence.
Wishing Mr & Mrs Scarlata a full and swift recovery.
How big was the pothole? While I wish them both a speedy recovery and hold the council fully responsible for the state of the roads, I wonder what they were concentrating on while riding?
2 foot by 4 foot, and 4 inches deep! That's a monster.
Obviously it hadn't been reported, as the highways marked it after this terrible event.
I've always had a 100% repair rate to potholes I've reported using the Fill that hole app with Suffolk Coastal council.
Pity this one hadn't been reported, especially given its size
It had,
"The pothole had been inspected, marked up and was awaiting repair in line with our maintenance policy."
Whether the couple have a legal claim against the council depends on how long ago it was reported to them and was it a priority given its size and the likelihood of death/injury for cyclists. If they are CUK members they'll get the free legal advice.